David Wooster

David Wooster (13 March 1711-22 May 1777) was a Major-General of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, commanding Connecticut militia during the campaigns in Canada and in Connecticut itself. Wooster was killed in the battle of Ridgefield in 1777.

Biography
David Wooster was born on 13 March 1711 in Stratford, Connecticut, and he graduated from Yale College in 1738. Wooster joined the colonial militia as a Lieutenant in 1739 when war broke out between Great Britain and Spain, and he became the commander of a coast guard ship that was to defend the coast from potential Spanish attack during the War of Jenkins' Ear. During King George's War, Wooster fought at the siege of Louisbourg and had an audience with King George II of Great Britain in London, being promoted to Captain. Wooster became a colonel while serving in the French and Indian War, during which he fought at the battle of Fort Carillon and later the capture of Fort Ticonderoga from France.

When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, Wooster became a Major-General in the militia and became a Brigadier-General of the Continental Army as the Continental Congress prepared to invade British Canada to forestall an invasion from the north. Wooster became the military governor of Montreal after the capture of Fort St. Jean, and he took over all of the forces in Quebec after Richard Montgomery was killed at the battle of Quebec on 31 December 1775. Wooster was nearly court-martialled for incompetence as he failed to maintain public order in Montreal, and in April 1776 he led reinforcements to help Benedict Arnold in his siege of Quebec before John Thomas arrived. Wooster was sent back to Connecticut to lead the state's militia, and in April 1777 he had to fight against a raid by William Tryon and the British Army targeting a supply base at Ridgefield. Wooster was wounded by British artillery in the ensuing battle of Ridgefield, and he died on 2 May 1777 of his wounds. Since then, he has been considered to be a largely forgotten hero of the revolution.